Jack R. Smith, Ph. D. Interim State Superintendent of Schools

	Jack R. Smith, Ph.D. Interim State Superintendent of Schools
200 West Baltimore Street • Baltimore, MD 21201 • 410-767-0100 • 410-333-6442 TTY/TDD • MarylandPublicSchools.org

TO: Maryland DECA Advisors

FROM: Diana Hegmann, DECA State Director

CTE Student and Assessment Services
Division of Career and College Readiness

DATE: January 22, 2016

SUBJECT: DECA State Career Development Conference: March 10 – 11, 2016

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) in partnership with Maryland DECA would like to invite you to the DECA State Career Development Conference. The conference will be held on March 10-11, 2016 at the Turf Valley Resort, 2700 Turf Valley Road, Ellicott City, MD 21042.

The Maryland DECA Career Development Conference (CDC) is the highlight of the year for most DECA members as they have been preparing for competition and are eager to showcase their business and marketing skills. We hope that each of you will encourage as many members as possible to attend this conference, as well as the International Career Development Conference in Nashville, TN from April 23 – April 27, 2016. Eligibility to participate at these conferences depends on students being registered as National DECA members. If you have not done so already, please register all members by February 13, 2016.

All competitive events are aligned to the National qualifying events. For requirements and standards please visit http://www.deca.org/high-school-programs/high-school-competitive-events/. Online Registration for the State Career Development Conference can be found by visiting https://www.decaregistration.com/md. The registration window will open on Monday, January 25, 2016 and will close on Monday, February 22, 2016. There will be no extensions.

Please note, on-line testing will be conducted at each school site just like in 2015. On-line testing instructions will be sent under a separate cover letter by February 8, 2016. The DECA on-line testing window will be February 29–March 4, 2016 with a make-up date of March 7, 2016. To register, please visit, https://www.decaregistration.com/md then click registration.

Username: Your email address (the email address used for this memo)

Password: mddeca

Onsite conference registration will take place on Thursday, March 10 from 8:00- 9:00 AM. Rooms will not be available upon arrival; therefore luggage will be stored with the front desk. Students and advisors should arrive at the conference dressed prepared for competition. Maryland DECA has scheduled a mandatory advisor check-in when you arrive to discuss assignments and conference activities. The opening session will begin promptly at 9:05 AM.

Please review the following information regarding the DECA State Career Development Conference. If you have any questions regarding the conference and registering students for competitive events, please contact Diana Hegmann at [e-mail] or at 410-767-0536.

CONFERENCE HOTEL

Turf Valley Resorts www.turfvalley.com (Access the website for directions and more information) 2700 Turf Valley Road Ellicott City, Maryland 21042 410.465.1500 | 888.TEE.TURF

CONFERENCE COSTS

The 2016 Maryland DECA CDC costs are based on room occupancy and include all costs for the conference (room, meals programs, and materials). The costs for the conference are as follows:

Single $195.00 per person (Advisors/Chaperones only)
Double $155.00 per person
Triple $135.00 per person
Quad $125.00 per person
State Officer $75.00 per person

Please assign all students to rooms according to the fees listed above. Conference costs include one overnight hotel room, meals, printing costs, awards, media expenses, etc. The deadline for receipt of payment at MSDE is Tuesday, March 8, 2016. Checks for conference payments should be made payable to Maryland DECA and sent to:

Diana Hegmann
Division of Career and College Readiness

Maryland State Department of Education, 3^rd Floor

200 West Baltimore Street

Baltimore, MD, 21201


CONFERENCE MEALS
The conference begins with registration between 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM on Thursday, March 10, 2016. The registration fee also covers the following: lunch and dinner on Thursday evening, and a breakfast on Friday morning.


CODE OF CONDUCT
Maryland DECA will enforce the Conduct Practices and Procedures during the State Career Development Conference. Advisors are responsible for making sure their students adhere to the document requirements during the conference and the DECA Code of Conduct. Please share the attached Code of Conduct and Procedures with every student prior to attending.



ROOM KEYS

Hotel room reservations will be made based upon the hotel assignments you submit in the Online Registration System. Sleeping rooms will not be available until 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Room keys and a rooming list will be distributed to advisors between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM.

RUNNING FOR STATE OFFICE
We will continue to conduct the campaign and election sessions as single sessions. The session will take place on Friday morning from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM. Candidates for office will be expected to run a campaign table from the start of the conference until the election session on Friday morning. Please see that your candidates fulfill this obligation. Candidates for the office of State President will each have three minutes for their presentation. All other candidates will have two minutes.
Please visit the MD DECA website at www.marylanddeca.org to download the 2016-2017 MD DECA State Office Candidate Application. Please have your candidates complete the application and email them to [e-mail] by Tuesday, February 16, 2016. Candidates will receive a response to their candidacy by Friday, February 19, 2016.
EVENT COMPETITIONS
To view the competitive events offered including requirements and scoring sheets at the State Conference, please visit the MDDECA website at www.marylanddeca.org or the National website, www.deca.org.
Please note: Students may only compete in one event. Also, students will attend a series of workshops during the State Conference, when they are not in competition.



WRITTEN PROJECTS and INTERVIEWS
Written event documents must be submitted prior to the conference. Document portfolios must be received no later than Thursday, February 18, 2016 by the Competitive Events Committee. This year, all written events will be submitted electronically for pre-judging. You do not need to place written projects in the mail. Once again, Maryland DECA’s goal is to submit all written documents to the judges prior to the SCDC. To assist in making this happen, please submit all student written projects and portfolios into a DECA Dropbox file folder that will be shared with all DECA Advisors. If you are unable to access the DROPBOX file, please email all electronic documents of the final written event to [e-mail].
Confirmation of receipt through DROPBOX or email will be sent within 48 hours upon receipt.
Upon submission of the written event, students will be scheduled for an interview time during the conference. Written event interviews will take place Thursday. Please remember students will still need to bring a printed copy of their final written events and/or portfolios in the required DECA binder to State CDC on March 10, 2016.
ONLINE REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS -
Step 1: Log-In
Visit https://www.decaregistration.com/md click Registration.

Username: Your email address (the email address used to log into DECA, Inc for Membership)

Password: Your password used for DECA, Inc Membership login
Click Submit

Step 2: Complete Information Form

Complete the required information (any field with an asterisk *).

For example: * Arrival Date: 03/10/2016 Time: 8:00 am
* Departure Time: 03/11/2016 Time: 11:30 am

Step 3: Enter Registrants

Click Add New Name to individually enter the names of students, state officers, advisors, chaperones and judges that will be participating in the State Career Development Conference. Keep in mind, no competitive events should be selected for advisors, chaperones and judges. However, students and state officers are required to participate in a competitive event.

When registering students for team events, the first team will be number 1, the second team will be number 2, etc. Assign the same team number to each team member competing in an event.
For example: Billy and Suzy are on a team together, their team number will both be 1 for that event. John and Phil are competing on a separate team in the same event their team number should be 2, etc.

Step 4: Assign Housing
Once you have entered your registered participants, click Housing to assign participants rooms (single, double, triple, or quad). In order to group participants together, place them in the same assigned room number and select “2 beds”.

For example: We have 9 students and 1 advisor attending the conference.
4 males sharing a quad ($120.00 per person), 3 females sharing a triple ($130.00 per person), 2 males sharing a double ($150.00 per person) and 1 advisor in a single ($180 per person)

Quad Example

Male 1: Assign Room 1 # of Beds 2 Beds

Male 2: Assign Room 1 # of Beds 2 Beds
Male 3: Assign Room 1 # of Beds 2 Beds
Male 4: Assign Room 1 # of Beds 2 Beds

Triple Example

Female 1: Assign Room 2 # of Beds 2 Beds

Female 2: Assign Room 2 # of Beds 2 Beds
Female 3: Assign Room 2 # of Beds 2 Beds

Double Example

Male 5: Assign Room 3 # of Beds 2 Beds

Male 6: Assign Room 3 # of Beds 2 Beds

Single Example

Advisor: Assign Room 4 # of Beds 1 Bed

Click the Save/Update button to save your housing assignments. The Save/Update button allows you the flexibility to change housing assignments before submitting to Maryland DECA.

NOTE: FOR CHAPTERS REGISTERING STATE OFFICERS AND JUDGES
For chapters that have registered State Officers or Judges, please do not assign housing. Only conference registration is needed for these populations. State Officers will be assigned rooms with other state officers by Maryland DECA. In addition, judges are not required to stay at the hotel and typically leave the conference after judging their assigned competition.

Step 5: Submit Registration
Once you have entered ALL registered participants and double checked your housing assignments, select Finished Registering and click the Submit button to finalize your registration.

If you have questions or technical issues please contact Diana Hegmann at [e-mail] or at 410-767-0536.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• 
  All conference attendees must bring their own pencils, pens, and calculators--- we will not supply any of these to participants.
  
• 
  Everyone’s cooperation and assistance will be needed to make the Maryland 2016 DECA CDC a success. There will be a mandatory Advisor check-in at registration for advisors on Thursday, March 10, 2016 from 8:00-9:00 AM to discuss assignments and activities. The Maryland State Department of Education and the DECA Board appreciate your contributions and commitment.
  
• 
  For more information regarding the conference, please contact Diana Hegmann at [e-mail].
  

MarylandPublicSchools.org